{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,19]],"date-time":"2026-09-19T05:02:10Z","timestamp":1789794130032,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Puglia Region"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: A technological platform of non-systemic oral cellulose-based superabsorbent hydrogels (CB-SAHs) has been recently developed as novel therapeutics for treating obesity. Further clinical advancement of CB-SAH candidates from this platform requires evaluating their potential impact on the absorption of co-administered drugs. Methods: In this work, we developed a simplified in vitro assay to assess whether and to what extent given CB-SAHs may interact with co-administered drugs. We selected two different CB-SAHs and tested them in contact with various solubilized drug substances under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. A total of 23 drugs were chosen among those that could be used to treat frequent conditions associated with excess weight (e.g., type 2 diabetes) or to deal with common therapeutic needs (e.g., pain relief). Final drug recovery (FDR) in the simulated intestinal medium was quantified using UV-Vis spectroscopy to assess drug\u2013hydrogel interactions. Results: While most drugs achieved an average FDR exceeding 80% with both hydrogels, six compounds exhibited lower FDR values (~68\u201378%) with at least one CB-SAH, indicating stronger, specific drug\u2013hydrogel interactions. Notably, the FDR measured for metformin with both CB-SAHs (~94%) was consistent with previous clinical findings demonstrating negligible metformin\u2013CB-SAH interaction. Conclusions: Although simplified, the in vitro assay shows promise as an exploratory screening tool to identify specific drug\u2013CB-SAH interactions that warrant subsequent clinical evaluation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics18091173","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T08:03:17Z","timestamp":1789632197000},"page":"1173","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Non-Systemic Oral Cellulose-Based Superabsorbent Hydrogels for Weight Management: Potential Drug-Device Interactions Estimated by a Simplified In Vitro Assay"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Eliana","family":"Panteca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Gelesis, 73021 Calimera, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ivo","family":"Surano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gelesis, 73021 Calimera, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1145-6674","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christian","family":"Demitri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yishai","family":"Zohar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gelesis, 73021 Calimera, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3039-9107","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marta","family":"Madaghiele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Sannino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"344","DOI":"10.1089\/dia.2018.0028","article-title":"Interference Assessment of Various Endogenous and Exogenous Substances on the Performance of the Eversense Long-Term Implantable Continuous Glucose Monitoring System","volume":"20","author":"Lorenz","year":"2018","journal-title":"Diabetes Technol. 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